Unpacking The Satire Shield

Getting this out way late, I’ve been under the weather so my writing is taking a bit of a hit. Still, this was a fun scene to write and deserves to have some unpacking. Let’s get to it!

The effects of Satire

I adore satire as an art form. The works of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and Jasper Fforde are some of my favorite books of all time. On Television The Simpsons and Futurama are high up on my list. Satire takes what is, blends in some exaggerated expectations, and takes life to non-sensical extremes. Good satire teaches us a great deal about ourselves.

Trying to narrativize 1 an actual manifestation of satire posed an interesting challenge. What would it look like?

And so we ended up with Bug becoming a garden gnome, Sindy morphing into an aggravated house gnome, and Barker transformed into a Rambo clone. Nobody, given his deep immersion into Applied Imagination 2, retains his transformations longer than others. His steampunk mode kinda fits his character.

Will, isn’t affected by the Satire Shield because he’s not controlled by Narrative 3. Its the same reason the Lawyer’s injunctions don’t hurt him.

When the lawyers enter the shield they transform into bumbling bureaucrats. After the shield was implemented they attempted an invasion of Boarsblemish and were annihilated, which lead to the end of the first invasion. Bureaucrats don’t react well on the battlefield.

BoBCINC?

“Boarsblemish Commander in Chief.” BobCINC is in command of all forces deployed in the Boarsblemish corridor, including the Pristined Lands.

His name is Oswald. When he passes through the, however, he transforms into a hen-pecked salesmen named “Bob Sync.” I can’t make this stuff up 4.

Wizard Coffee

Wizards believe instant coffee is (a) good and (b) coffee. Gnomes have been trying to convince the group of their error for the better part of two-hundred years without success. Academics don’t like “lay people” telling them what to do. Interestingly, Bug actually has a doctorate in coffee roasting, but the Wizards don’t think it’s a “serious enough” subject for the degree to carry much weight.

They’re all doomed?

Yup. Did you think Will was in town for a vacation? Nobody, who was already aware of The Realm’s impending demise, is taking immanent defeat in stride.